They just don't get it, do they?

We're referring to Congress and the administration in the contretemps over just when President Obama would deliver his jobs speech before a session of that "august" body.

Republicans charge that the president -- or at least his handlers -- chose Wednesday night for the event. The GOP immediately smelled conspiracy because that's the night the party has scheduled an intra-party debate of the pack leader, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and the other presidential wannabes. Of course, the Democrats would say that was the furthest thing from their minds.

Speaker John Boehner threw cold water on that plan, denying the president's request for Wednesday. It's the first time a president has been denied a request to address the full Congress. The speaker said there were votes scheduled for that night, and besides, there would not be enough time for a security sweep of the building before the president spoke.

So much for all that talk earlier abut bipartisanship. And they wonder why the public has such a low opinion of those inside the Beltway? With all their flowery speech exuding deference for each other -- you know, "Will the gentelman -- or gentlelady -- from the state of …" they have continued to display their ignorance of what the voters want them to do. H.L. Mencken was right when he dubbed Congress as "the cave of winds."

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Stamford Mayor Mike Pavia might have thought it a cool public relations move when he named baseball broadcaster and former manager Bobby Valentine as his public safety director. He took the job with the very modest salary of $10,000, which he donates to charity.

We know Valentine told the mayor when he would be unavailable for his director's duties because of his broadcast commitment to ESPN. Well, okay, but when your town is savaged by a tropical storm, you'd think he'd see his priority was to be in Stamford, his hometown.

Frankly, I don't know what qualifications he has for the job in the first place, other than providing the mayor with some photo-ops with a recognizable sports figure. I suppose he could have gone around and passed out autographed baseballs to the emergency workers dealing with the storm.

Chalk that up in the "error" column, Bobby.

• • •

They don't do it easy in Bridgeport, do they?

With incumbent Democrat Bill Finch rated as a cinch to be re-elected, the Democrats have their internal squabbles. Demo­crat Mary-Jane Foster was petitioning to challenge Finch in a primary, but she has been disqualified.

According to the Democratic Registrar of Voters, Foster submitted signatures that were invalid because they were for too many candidates for the Board of Education. That sounds like a technicality to me, but what do I know? Remember, I grew up in Bridgeport and knew of only one mayor in all those years, Jasper McLevy, a nominal Socialist. I didn't even know there were Democrats or Republicans who wanted to be mayor. Wait a minute -- I do remember Slim Young, who ran a diner on State Street next to the Bridgeport Post and did run as a Republican one year. I think his platform was "the meatloaf special in every pot."

The are a Republican and an Independent seeking the job this year.

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Mitt Romney, up until now the front-runner in the Republican presidential sweepstakes, knows how fleeting that ranking can be. Rick Perry, the governor of Texas has moved into the front of the pack. Now he will be the target of all the other candidates, as Romney has been for months.

As I said last week, I can't take another Texas president.

Meanwhile, New Hamshah's economy continues to get a boost from visiting candidates and non-candidates who are pressing the flesh in the "Live Free or Die" state.

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Unless Linda McMahon jumps into the fray to replace retiring Senator Joe Lieberman, we will be faced with a bunch of poor candidates -- relatively speaking, that is. It won't be a battle of the multi-millionaires this time.

She and Dick Blumenthal represented big bucks in that one.

Democratic Rep. Chris Murphy of the 5th District can claim to be the poorest in the field. He lists assets of between $17,000 and $80,000 but claims liabilities of between $30,000 and $100,000, representing his and his wife's student loans.

Chris Shays, the former 4th District congressman, is at the top, with assets of as much as $2.5 million. These include a condo in Bridgeport which he and his wife just bought to establish residency in the district, and a large farm in a Maryland resort town.

I don't think any of them are headed for the homeless shelter -- unless, of course, to seek some votes.

• • •

Now that Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene has exited the scene and we are about to put Labor Day behind us, we may see a pickup in political activity on the local scene. Democratic mayoral candidate Andy Garfunkel has straightened out his vacation time vs. sick time incident, promoted as you might imagine by Art Scialabba, the GOP town chairman.

Hizzoner Dick Moccia did the politically smart thing, calling off his long weekend away from the city to return before Irene moved on shore.

Let the games begin.

• • •

I received a bulletin from my imaginary village of Hooter Lake in New Hamshah.

According to the denizens of the lake, streams feeding into the lake managed to raise the water level quite a bit, but didn't threaten any structures.

The one-pump gas 'n' go continued to operate using a gas generator, with most of the power still out.

The ice-fishing shack that sank through the ice last year but was recovered in the spring has, alas, sunk once again. Don Mahon, down in Florida, will be unhappy with that news -- he's been trying to rent it each summer.